


Wake Up

by Drfanfare



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Activism, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Animal Abuse, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Language, Other, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Petstuck, Therapy, Violence, Writers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2015-04-15
Packaged: 2018-02-23 04:11:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2533703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drfanfare/pseuds/Drfanfare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxy Lalonde has been writing stories of shitty wizards for far longer than she wants. A life of a famous writer can be down crap sometimes. When Mituna, a troll that's been living off the streets, comes barreling head first in her life, her world is turned upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Usual Morning Line Up

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Unwanted Free Ugly Troll](https://archiveofourown.org/works/477092) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



> Hello all! So this is my first work! I'm excited to be sharing this with you! I'm going to try and post as much as I can over the net month for National Novel Writing Month. So Enjoy!

Fuck

The noise blared from the phone on the bedside table.

Damn, did it hurt. Roxy groaned and rolled away throwing a pillow over her pounding head. Hangovers suck. She wasn't even late enough it the process to be considered sobered up. She could have only been asleep for an hour or two. A glance from under the pillows at the clock said 7:00 am. Yep.

In her half drunk, half hung over state, she was quite pleased with herself. She managed to finish her latest manuscript just before day break. It was another story about a young wizard that had been captured in some made up land and ended up saving the day. God, was she sick of writing these things. The first one she wrote was a college creative writing class project. Her professor encouraged her to publish it. That was back when she had the passion for writing. Now.... Well there was a reason she drank so much.

The phone stopped ringing and the answering machine let out its shrill beep.

"Hello, you've managed to reach Roxy Lalonde. You know the drill, name, number, the works."  
Another shrill beep. She pulled the pillow tighter over her ears.

"Roxy, PLEASE don't do this again." Roxy let out another groan. Her manager. Great. The adorable little cherub of a woman that was constantly annoying her. But well... She was extraordinarily good at her job. "You KNOW we have a signing today. You were supposed to be ready by now. I'm outside and I'm coming in to get you."

Awesome. She had forgotten about that. Six or so hours of screaming children and teens, aggravating an already pounding headache. Then she would have to sign about a thousand books and endure about two million more questions that she would have to bs answers to. She officially hated being an author. She didn't even want to be this anyway.

She rubbed her eyes and slid unsteadily out of bed, teetering towards the master bath. She turned the hot water of the shower and slipped out of her night gown. The water felt smooth and hot against her aching muscles. The vanilla scent of her shampoo and conditioner was strangely comforting.

The mirror was steamy when she finished her shower. She threw on the the dress that hung off the hook on the bathroom closet door. Roxy put on some simple natural looking make up. She grabbed her brush and turned on the hair dryer. Fuck. Yet another loud noise. She was quick to dry and style her hair into her signature flip.

By the time she finished there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Roxy sighed, "Come in, Calli." The door swung open revealing a woman in her early twenties. Her dark wavy hair was cut short and was clipped back. Her suit was a pleasantly deep green and her shirt was a lighter iridescent shade. The look on her face was annoyed, but in her hand she held a steaming cup of coffee.

"Excellent, let's go." Roxy took the cup from Calli, strode past her down the stairs and out the door, grabbing her clutch from the table. Out front the car waited, engine purring in anticipation. The ride was fairly short, only about 45 minutes from the quiet Maryland suburb to the hustle and bustle of DC and the waiting bookstore.

The line stretched around the block, people standing in the winters chill awaiting the arrival of Roxy.

"Is there by any chance a back entrance, Callie?" Roxy stared out at the line, grimacing. They were a bunch of teenagers and young adults, mixed with a few older and younger die hards. Some of them were cheaply costumed in imitations of her characters. Great these were going to be the crazies types.

"Unfortunately, there isn't. Here are your sunglasses and scarf." Callie pulled over in front of the double doors and handed the promised items to Roxy, which she donned with a frown. Not much of a disguise. "Please smile, Roxy. You make a better impression that way."

The security opened the door as Roxy sighed. "Fine." She said as she stepped out. A cheer came from the crowd as they saw Roxy step out of the car. She donned a fake appreciative grin as she was ushered inside by the security guards. The table was set near the rear, a huge cardboard cut out of the cover of the latest release of the Wandering Wizard chronicles. Roxy grudgingly took her seat behind it and pulled the fountain pen she used for signings out of her purse.

"Well, here goes."


	2. Late Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry It took this long to post, I lost my progress on half of this chapter and had to rewrite.

"Ice, Callie, ICE." Roxy massaged her hand in her irritable sobered up state. "You know my had hurts after the signing. The least you could have ready for me is ice for my hand... That, or a nice whiskey."

The chill of the night reached them even down it in the garage. The air outside carried the scent of snow on it. Roxy regretted dully not having brought her coat. She had decided to walk with Callie the block from the bookstore to the parking garage beneath Ford's theater, rather than waiting for her to return to the front of the store. At least walking had kept her slightly warm.

Callie frowned. "You know I won't do that. You KNOW how I feel about your drinking." The crease deepened in her brow. "You really should find someway to kick it... I have a friend who runs an AA meeting, I could-"

"Okay, no. Stop talking. No, just, no." They'd reached the car and the opened their doors. Callie slipping into the driver seat and Roxy into the cab, she continued. "I know I haven't been exactly an exemplary role model for kids."

Callie gave Roxy a look as she backed out of the parking space. "What?" Roxy said indignantly.

"You lost your license over the last DUI." The tone of disapproval of was evident in Callie's words. The car was making last the round up towards the exit. "For goodness sake, Roxy, you write children's novels." Callie stopped momentarily as the car reached the exit. "You drinking all the time is bad pub-" As Callie accelerated into the street a dark figure had jumped in front of the car. There was a flash of red and blue light and the sound of impact as the figure rolled over the hood. The two women were thrown hard against their seat belts as Callie slammed on the breaks.

"Jesus, Callie!" Roxy wheezed, the wind knocked out of her. "What the fuck did you hit?!" She unclicked the seat belt and threw open the door. Callie was hyperventilating, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel hard.

"I-I don't know! It came out of no where."

Roxy's legs were trembling as she stepped out of the car and went around to find whatever they had hit. The light was dim but there was a small form crumpled on the ground. It let out a small pitiful whimper as Roxy knelt down next to it. "Jesus fuck, Callie! You hit a kid!"

"I hit a kid?!" Her assistants voice was shrill with panic. The front door had slammed and there was the sound of the trunk unlatching. The kid lay on the ground, thin hoodie pulled low over a mop of dark hair. Roxy reached out a hand, but before she could touch the small form, a thin line of electricity arced across the gap between them.

"Shit!" She snatched back her hand. Fucking static electricity. Carefully, she peeled the back hood off of the kid's head and froze. Horns. There were horns on his head. This wasn't a kid. This was a troll. 

"Callie stop." Roxy had her assistant fumbling with her cellphone. "Its not a kid, its a troll. They won't send an ambulance for a troll." At her words, the fumbling stopped. Callie crouched down the two of them, concern and panic etched deep in her face.

"Is he still alive?" Calliope's voice trembled.

"Give me a hand with him." Very slowly they turned him on his back, careful to support his neck. Somewhere in the back of Roxy's head it registered that she should probably not move and injured person, however common sense was not registering very well at the moment. Bending down, she pressed her ear to his chest. A steady thump could be heard as the chest rose and fell rhythmically beneath her.

"He's breathing." Roxy sat back up on her knees, looking around wildly. "We need to get home out of here." She glanced down at her watch and grimaced. It was 1 am. There was no way the vet was going to be open this late. "Callie you have to take him back to your place and watch him till the vet opens tomorrow."

Calliope made a distressed little noise. "I can't Roxy, there's a no pets clause in my contract. My landlord is a creep about it, too. He has cameras at all the entrances." Wow yeah. What a creep.

She sighed heavily. "Fine," Roxy bent and gently gathered him in her arms. She picked him up, his head supported carefully by the crook of her elbow. "I'll take him back to my place. Grab the door for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! They meet! Well sort of... Thanks for the sweet comments on the last chapter!


	3. Rude Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like discussing Lucid Mituna head cannons with my best friend. It makes for some gems.

_Beep Beep Beep_

_The sirens were so loud._

_Beep Beep Beep_

_The paramedics were working like bees over a body in the fading light, shouting urgent things to each other._

_Beep Beep Beep_

_"M-mommy?" You are clutching the stray cat in your trembling arms._

_Beep_

_A few paramedics back on their heels. One shakes her head in tired resignation. Another throws puts his hand over his eyes._

_Beep_

_You feel a large firm hand tugging at your shoulder. "Come here, Miss, please." You hear on of the medics say 'Body bag'_

_Beep_

_You scream. "MAMA!"  
_

Beep Beep Beep

Roxy opened her eyes. The light was still low, but past the golden honey of dawn. 

Beep Beep Beep

The memories of the night before were hazy. She vaguely remembered the car hitting somethin- oh right, It was a troll. They had brought it back to her apartment.

Beep Beep Beep

She probably should go check on him. The point to waking up this early was so that Calliope could take them to the vet. 

Beep Beep Beep

Damn that was getting annoying. Rubbing her face hard she turned over so she could shut the damn thing off. 

There was half a second of shocked silence as Roxy's brain registered the set of disgruntled blue and red eyes two inches from her face. She screamed and scrambled to the opposite side of the double bed. Her shaking fingers clutched the blanket absurdly high on her chest. 

"Jesus fuck!?" Roxy's voice was high and thick with her recent sleep. It was the troll. All tousled haired and with a supreme look of disapproval etched in his face. What the actual shit? Popping up like that? Who the fuck was he? Toshio from Ju-on? 

"Your abthurdly loud alarm," The troll's speech , although burdened with a heavy lisp, was still understandable. "has been going off for fifteen minuteth." Both of their eyes flicked to the still beeping alarm clock. The clock crackled as blue and red electricity arced across it. The screen flickered and died. As did the beeping.

The troll turned around and walked back out of her bed room without a word. Roxy sat stupefied on the mattress. One minute passed. Two. Then it clicked What the fuck? Did he seriously just break her alarm clock? What a little shit. Some part of her brain told her that trolls couldn't normally break alarm clocks without touching them, but she paid it no mind.

Throwing off the covers, Roxy stomped down the stairs after him. found him on the curled couch where they had left him the night before. His eyes were already closed and his face had already relaxed back into sleep.

The bubble of anger at his wake up call popped. Damn, he looked just like a kid. You know, minus the horns and grey skin stuff. Rubbing her eyes she turned to go the kitchen. 

The cold tile nipped at the bottoms of her bare feet, as she made a b-line for the liqueur cabinet. She pulled out the whisky and took a good swig from the bottle. The fire down her throat did a little to fend of the shivers threatening start. It really was chilly in the house. Roxy made a mental note to take check the thermostat once she was done. 

Hoping a little bit she hopped over to the coffee maker and hit the brew button. Setting down the bottle, she picked up her charging phone. The time on it said 6:45 am. She flipped to her contacted and pressed dial.

_Ring Ring Rin-_

"Strider?" Roxy's heart skipped a beat like it always did when she heard his voice.

"Dirk, hey I know its early, but-"

"Fuck, Roxy is that you? It's ass o'clock early. Have you been out drinking all night?"

Roxy frowned. "No, thank you very much I was not out all night drinking." Rude. "I need the number of your vet. Do you think he'll make house calls?"

"You mean Zahhak? Why do you need his number?"

She stared at the percolating coffee she spoke. "You told me that he was the one who fixed sollux up, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Wait, why?"

"Because I have a troll I need him to check out."

There's silence on the line for a moment. "You- A troll? What-?

"Look, its a bit of a long story. Today's your day off right? Text me his number and come over at some point. Oh and when you do, bring me a new digital alarm clock."

She hung up. Pulling a mug out of the cabnet, she poured the freshly brewed coffee. Roxy poured a shot of whiskey into it and then hesitated. With a sigh she added a second shot. With how the day was shaping up, she would need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't know... Ju-on is the Japanese "Grudge" movie.


	4. Chance

It wasn't long before Dr Zahhak arrived. It had been his day off, so he could make a house call rather than trucking all the way out to the Baltimore clinic. Dirk was off too, so the two drove over together.

Dr. Zahhak was a mountain of a man. He gave Roxy a warm smile as she opened the door. "Hello, Ms. Lalonde. May I come in?"

She stood back and let the two men enter. Dirk gripped her firmly on the shoulder as he passed. "You okay Rox?"

"I guess. This whole thing is weird. Did you bring my clock?" She followed the two men into her own living room.

"Its in the truck,"Dirk thrust a thumb over his shoulder. "I'll get it before we leave."

The troll was still curled up under the blankets, but his eyes were open and watchful. Dr Zahhak crouched before him. "Hello there, Mr...?"

"Mituna. Mituna Captor." Roxy suddenly realized she had never asked what his name was. Mituna. What kind of name was that?

"Mr. Captor. Can I call you Mituna?" The blankets moved slightly as he nodded. "Well then, I'm going to need you to sit up for me. I'm going to make sure you didn't get hurt too badly last night." Mituna sighed as he sat up and shed the blankets. "Would you mind giving us the room?" Dr. Zahhak gave the two adults a stern, but pleasant look. This was not a suggestion.

"Sure Doc. Come on Rox. I need some coffee." Dirk took Roxy by the elbow, tugging her gently into the kitchen. He deposited her on a stool and went straight to the cupboard to grab a couple of mugs. He looked at the coffee maker, half filled with dark liquid and the amber whiskey sitting on the counter beside it. He froze. ".... Roxy." The disappointment was evident in his voice.

"You know what? No. Stop right there. I don't want to hear it."

"Damn it Rox." He rounded on her. "Is this why he got hit last night? I thought we talked about this. Did you even go to the meeting I sent you the info for?"

"Jesus, Dirk. I wasn't even driving the fucking car. Calliope was. And you know what no, I didn't go. I had a deadline to finish."

"Yeah right." He turned back to pour the cups.

"Look I just had a little this morning to warm up. It was fucking freezing, okay?" Dirk gave a non-committal grunt as he came over and set one of the mugs back in front of her. "Hey," Roxy frowned at him as he sat in the stool beside her. "Did you want to actually know what happened or are you going to keep assuming that I am a horrible drunkard?"

"You are a horrible drunkard." He pointed out. "But tell me."

With a scowl, Roxy launched into the event of the previous night. There wasn't much to tell. A description of the accident. Putting Mituna to bed. The basics.

"So how did you break your clock?" He set his half empty cup on the counter and crossed his arms.

"Funny you should ask that. I didn't actually break it. Mituna broke it. I woke up and he was going all dead chick from the grudge on me, next thing I know he's bitching about the alarm going off and the clock is being lit up like a fire work display. Poof. No clock. Like, how does he even do that?"

Dirk snickered. "Sounds to me like to kid's got psionics. Sol's done something similar before." That's right. Roxy kept forgetting that one of the Striders' trolls had the weird zappy powers.

There was a knock at the door frame. "Miss Lalonde," Dr. Zahhak nodded cordially to Roxy. "Looks like he only received some abrasions and contusions. No permanent damage. But there are a few troubling things about him. One he's severely undernourished. He seems to have been living on the streets for at most, if not all of his life. Which is quite a long time seeing as he is an adolescent. Two, he is a psionic, and based on the residual conductivity, apart from the stuff he outwardly able to display, which for a yellow blood is quite a bit, there are high levels of latent psionics. Those psionics are triggered in high stress situations and can be extremely volatile. Which brings me to my point. If the authorities find him and test him for psionics, they _will_ euthanize him. Too much a of public endangerment. That or send him to Crocker Corps for scientific research. He can't stay on the streets anymore."

Dirk and Roxy looked at each other. "Doc I can't take him. We have our hands more than full with Kar and Sol. As much as I'd want to take him, we just can't afford to."

There was silence. Both men's eyes settled on Roxy. "Oh, no. No, I don't know the first thing about trolls! I can't have something like that! Isn't it basically the same as having a kid? I can barely take care of myself, let alone another sentient being."

"Rox, _please_." Dirk took off his shades. Her heart fluttered as his eyes bored into her own. "He needs someone. And honestly, you do too. Just try for a little while. You can foster him while you decide. Just... just give him a chance."

The silence stretched for what seemed like eternity. Then it broke.

"Fine. I'll do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it feels like it took forever to write this chapter.


	5. Land of Stories and Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry It took so long. I'm in college so sometimes things come up. But don't worry despite the occasional hiccup I will keep writing and posting!  
> ENJOY!

Dr. Zahhak and Dirk didn't stay too long after the exam was finished. The doctor gave her some of the paperwork he had brought with him on adoption as well as some literature on troll care. "Now, this is the official literature that's been released by Crocker Corps. I am legally bound to give it to you. However, if you want a better idea of troll care, I would ask Mr. Strider. His and he brother are doing a fine job with their boys. Call me anytime if you need anything."

Roxy gave him a nervous grimace. "Thank You, Dr. Zahhak." He gave her a reassuring smile in return and turned to go down the dive. 

Dirk surprised her with a firm hug on his way out. "Hey, Lalonde, I know I give you a lot of shit. But I _know_ you can do this." He pulled back and gave her a rare smile. "Take care, Rox. Call me if you need me."

She felt her self smile back. "You too, Strider." And with that, he left.

Mituna was right where the doctor had left him. On the couch with his knees pulled up to his chest, he looked small. He was flipping through through the preview copy of _The Land of Sands and Time_ , Roxy's next novel that was slated to premiere in a week and a half. His eye darted across the page, absorbing the words as they went.

Roxy came around and leaned on the back of the couch. "Look, I'm not good at this whole "caretaker" gig." Mituna didn't look up. "I mean, fuck, I can barely handle myself. So you're going to have to help me. Okay?"

"I can take care of mythelf." Okay this was off to a stellar start.

She sighed, came around the front of the couch and sat down next to Mituna. The silence stretched on for a long time. Finally, unable to stand it, Roxy spoke. "I take it you're a reader?" A nod. "Where'd you learn to read? I thought trolls weren't taught school stuff."

"I taught mythelf." Mituna didn't look up as he spoke. "Found thome bookth in a dumpthter. Got bored. Tho I learned how to read."

"Huh," Roxy was taken aback. Okay so it seemed the kid was smart. "Well. I guess... Feel free to read any of my personal collection."

"Collection?" His ears perked up with interest and he tore his eyes from the book to look at her.

"Yup! Wanna see?" He gave a tentative little nod. With her own little grin, she got up and led him down the back hall. At the far end, she pushed the already half open door. "Voila!"

"Holy thit." The room was covered wall to wall with bookshelves. Book lay strewn across the floor and on the reading table. The one corner that did not have bookshelves was occupied by and over-sized recliner and a reading lamp.

Roxy smirked as the troll took it all in open mouthed. Vaguely she noticed his tongue was split. Probably was what made his lisp so bad. "Well when you're a writer you have to be well read." 

"You write bookth?" He tilted his head curiously. 

"Uh-huh. That bottom shelf there? Those are the ones I've published." He crouched by the shelf to peer at the bindings.

Mituna fell over and looked up at her, pure astonishment reflected in his eyes. " _You_ wrote the Cathcade therieth?"

She chuckled and gave him a nod. "Yup, it was my first. Why? Have you read them?"

A deep mustard blush spread across the trolls face. He looked away out of embarrassment "They... they're what I taught mythelf to read with. I really loved them."

Now Roxy could feel her own blush spreading across her cheeks. "Oh. Uh." She didn't know how to respond to that. "Well. I'm glad."

He looked back and ran his finger thoughtfully along the spines. "Thethe all look tho nithe. Mine were all dirty and groth."

"If you like, you can have mine." She wasn't sure what made her say it. She was usually really protective of her collection. But at the same time, it had been a long time since she felt so happy knowing someone had liked her writing.

"Really?" His eyes had widened to huge orbs.

"Really."

Mituna launched himself at her, wrapping his arms around her middle in a tight hug. "Oh. Okay then." 

"Thank you." Roxy's heart melted at his words. She tentatively hugged him back.

"No problem kid." Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as she thought. She could do this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write. I am so sorry if it wasn't up to par with my last couple.


	6. How About Those Clothes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to Momnar for helping out with Mituna's dialogue.

"Hey kid, I think its time we get you some new clothes." A few weeks had passed since Mituna had began staying with her. It was actually surprisingly easy to take care of him. He fed himself, knew how to clean himself and usually entertained himself. They were sitting in the library. Roxy sat at the writing table pouring over the beginning of her new manuscript and Mituna was curled in the armchair, surrounded by a stack of books.

"What'th wrong with the oneth I've got?" He didn't look up from the coding book he had found the day before. It was six hundred pages long and he was already through a good five sixths of it.

"A) you have been wearing the same hoodie for god knows how long. That cannot be sanitary. B) Those hand me down pants Dave gave you are like tents on you. Who the hell keeps their pants up with duct tape?"

"Inventive geniutheth."

"Only _dumbass_ inventive geniuses" She corrected. Folding her arms she sighed. It was time to use her trump card. "Okay, look if I get you a computer will you agree to get new clothes. I've seen you eyeing mine. And I know you're about to run out of books hear. You can start reading online."

He froze mid page turn and slowly turned to face her with narrowed eyes. "That thoundth like too good of a deal. What horrible pet outfitth are you planning on thtuffing me into?"

Roxy let out a bubble of laughter. "Your pick. Honestly I think pet clothes are tacky as fuck, and you're way too fucking tall for any of the troll crap I've seen sold." It was true. She had done a little research the night before. The online catalogue for troll clothing was sickening. Little frilly outfits with lace or embroidery. It was like you were supposed to dress them up like dolls. Like they weren't a living thinking being. And only for display. Fuck that noise. "So we'll take you to the mall. I really don't are what you pick. So long as they're not so baggy they look like skirts on you"

"Skirts are the next best invention to duct tape belts." Mituna smirked as he went back to his book. 

"Uh huh. Sure." Roxy rolled her eyes and closed her notebook. No way she was getting more work done on this right now. "And you know... Ehm. Proper undergarments."

"Fuck underwear, I like it breethy."

"Oh ew, I did not need that mental image."

The yellow blood threw back his head and cackled. "Bathk. Bathk in itth glory."

Blatantly ignoring his sass, Roxy pulled out her phone. "I'll call Callie to come pick us up. The underpants are non negotiable."

"Whatever, I'm jutht in it for the computer."

"Yeah, yeah." Her attention was trained on writing the text to Callie. Her assistant could not have been more thrilled when she found out Mituna was going to stay with her. 

"Put me through frilly thopping hell all you want but if you're theriouth about the computer I'll do anything."

"Noted."

"Please don't you know...?" He hesitated and closed his book. "Whatever just don't ditch my old stuff, okay?" He looked at her with big mismatched eyes. "I need an emergency backup just in case.

"Okay, okay." Her heart sank a little. Sometimes she forgot that the kid had lived on the street all his life. He probably was paranoid about not having enough... Of anything. That wasn't a fear that was going to break easily. "I got it, kid. No ditching of decaying articles of clothing."

"Just in case nature ends up being a little too cold for my bulge's liking." He snickered.

"Fucking hell." What an ass hat. So much for feeling sorry for him. Face palm of the century. 

"Tho," She looked over and saw the biggest smirk plastered across his face. "How about thothe clotheth?"

Despite herself, she could feel an equally large smirk spreading across her own visage. "Damn, it you smooth little shit. I knew there was a reason I liked you. Get your shoes on, she'll be here in ten."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for taking so long guys. I think I'll try to do at least a weekly update.


	7. Thanks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY IT TOOK FOREVER TO UPDATE. End of semester and Finals have been killing me. College is going to be the death of me I swear.

The mall was crowded. The holiday season always caused an influx of shoppers. Mituna kept his hood pulled low over his face.

“Thith wath a fuckin’ mithtake.” He kept his head low as they walked through the bustling halls. He was about the height of the average 12 year old human. Tall for a troll, it got him quite a few stares and glances. “Ithn’t it illegal for me to be here or some thit?”

“Well, no.” Roxy readjusted a bag on her arm. “It’s not.” It was true. Due to the Troll Accompaniment Act, trolls were allowed to accompany their owners into shops and restaurants. This has been passed after a series of trollnappings occurred while they waited outside of establishments.

“Well that doethn’t theem to thtop thethe bludge wipeth from thtaring.” Mituna hunched lower as a mother dragged of a child that was loudly exclaiming about the boy with grey skin.

“Bulge wipe?” Callie glanced down at Mituna with a questioning look. “What on Earth is that?”

Mituna glanced up at her with a mischievous smirk. “Well mith Calliope, I’d be happy to thhow you when we get-“

“Oh no, you won’t.” Roxy yanked hard on the strings of his hood, blinding him. “Do and we’re turning around right now and leaving without your computer.”

“Fuck you.” Mituna’s voice was muffled as he tried to desperately free himself from the hood. 

“I love you, too, Tuna.” She patted his head, quickly avoiding his teeth as he attempted to bite her fingers. “Come on, kid. You’ve behaved through the clothing shopping. Now you get to pick out some sweet loot. Don’t spoil it now.”

“Fine. Theeth.” He scowled up at her.

The group strode into microcenter. Roxy led the group back to the PC section, blatantly ignoring the Apple section. If Mituna was going to get a computer, Roxy was going to make damn well sure that he got a _real_ one.

Roxy grinned as she spread her arms wide at the array of laptops. “Voila!” 

“Fuck…” Mituna glanced around at the array of screens. “There’th tho much tech…” 

“I know right?” Okay maybe Roxy was getting a little over excited herself. “Okay look here. This one here? It has 16 GB of RAM and 2 TB of memory. To put that into perspective, you could download Skyrim, at max capacity, in about five minutes. Do you have to create a program but you have a memory leak? It’s all good, because with this, you could run the same program with a thousand memory leaks without crashing your computer or even getting it slowed down. The battery life is five hours when everything is up and running. The screen has a gorgeous 1024p resolution and the keyboard is large enough to allow for your fingers to have room to type, don’t want to have to retype anything, do you?” She was now clicking away at the keyboard, absorbed in the computer. “Hmm, comes with Windows 8 though. Almost as shitty as the Apple system they ripped it off of. We could easily install Linux though." 

Mituna just stood gazing at Roxy slacked jawed for a moment. “How do you know tho much about computerth? I thought you were a writer.” 

Roxy glanced gleefully over her shoulder. “We’ll they’re a hobby I picked up in college. I actually got a CS minor and wrote a lot of code for the programming club.” She turned back to the computer to hide the light shade of pink across her cheeks. “That’s where I met Dirk. Yeah, no, you’re definitely getting this one.” Roxy called over to the representative that had been hovering a few feet away. She had them grab the computer in question from the back. Leaving Callie to wait for the representative to return, Roxy led Mitune over to the cases. "Gotta protect the tech." 

They had a couple girly ones, a couple camo designs, some clear ones, and a couple sleek ones. "Okay, kid, take your pick. I recommend this aluminum one over here. It'll protect against-" Roxy turned to find the troll clutching a shitty plastic bee case and looking at her with pleading eyes. 

"Can I get thith one?" His voice was quiet. 

"Are you kidding me? That shit will break if you sneeze on it." 

Mituna looked down at the case and then back up at Roxy. "Please?" 

Aw shit. That was just unfair. He could not be a dick all the time just pull this adorable shit. There is no human on the earth that could say no to a face like that. 

"Fuck you, very much..." She regarded him a moment longer then sighed. "Fine. You can get the case." 

Sparks arched between the trolls horns as he jumped up and down. "FUCK YETH!" 

"Okay calm down, calm down." She steered the over excited troll to the check out counter to add the case to their purchase. The manager was glaring Mituna the whole time with a look of contempt. 

"Okay kid, here you go. A computer all to yourself." Roxy handed Mituna the bag as they went to walk out. 

"Miss!"Roxy felt a cold trickle on the back of her neck. "May I speak to you a moment?" It was the manager. He stood arms crossed in front of the store. 

"Miss Roxy?" Callie shot a concerned between her employer and the manager. 

"Callie why don't you go take Mituna and go. I'll handle this." Callie gave a nod and took the troll by the shoulder, leading him off. Roxy squared her shoulders and plastered a fake smile on her face as she went up to the manager. "Yes, sir? Did you need something? 

"Look, I appreciate your business and all, but don't be bringing your pets in my establishment. I don't want his grubby little hands all over my merchandise." 

"Well I am so sorry for your inconvenience, sir. I was just under the assumption that this was a law abiding establishment is it not?" 

"Of course it is! I-" 

"Then I'm sure you know it is perfectly legal for Mituna, my _companion_ , to accompany me into any establishment. If you washed _your_ grubby little hands so you could pick up a newspaper without smudging it in the last ten years, you'd know that its the Troll Accompaniment Act that allows him to do such." She placed her sunglasses on her face, in a very strideresque fashion and continued in a sickly sweet voice. "Now since tis the season, and I happen to feel magnanimous, I won't be suing you for violating my civil liberties. I _will_ be writing to Corporate and to anyone else I can think of to inform them that this particular branch is managed by a bigoted asshat. Thank you so much and have a great holiday." 

With that she strode off, leaving the manager open mouthed with bulging eyes. 

It took her a few minutes to catch up with Callie and Mituna. By then Roxy was silently fuming. 

"You alright, Roxy?" Callie picked up speed to match Roxy's speed. 

"Yeah fine." Her response was short and abrupt. 

"Rox?" Mituna's voice was quiet. 

" _What_?" She snapped. 

"Thanks." It was barely above a whisper, but she felt him slip his hand into hers. He tightened his grip ever so slightly. 

Roxy felt a lump in her throat. She gave him a much firmer squeeze in return. "No problem, kid. Now let's blow this taco stand." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you tumblr user Lubu602 for help with the computer lingo.


	8. Ink stains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Hope you guys enjoy. I will try to get another chapter out this week.

"Callie," Roxy held the phone pressed against her ear. "I am not going to work on this next book unless you get me this slot in the New York Times. One. One single measly article." It was a quiet evening. Mituna had discovered the wonders of HDMI cables and was currently streaming IT Crowd on the flat screen and coding on his laptop. What a fucking nerd. Okay, she couldn't really say anything. Roxy had spent a good chunk of the wee hours in college "multitasking" like that.

"Look, don't pretend that we don't both know the times owes the publishing firm for the snafu last year. It's barely 1000 words. The publisher wants my book? My article gets in the times. Make. It. Happen."

She hung up then phone and rubbed her temple. Shit she needed a drink. She went to the kitchen a snagged a cup and the gin from the cabinet. She splashed just a smidge in the cup an found her self hesitating. Whether or not to pour more. A little was enough right? She didn't need more. It was a little unsettling. Normally she would have forgone the cup and drank about half the bottle. Roxy still drank everyday. But the first time Roxy got shitfaced after Mituna came here, he ended up teasing her so badly about it for a solid week that getting _that ___drunk lost it's appeal real fast. She capped the gin and replaced it in the cabinet.

On the counter lay four heavily annotated copies of her article. It was like she said, just under a thousand words. Eloquent and concise. She had spent the last week researching, writing, and revising this piece. She had even sent it to a couple of her editor friends from papers. It was on the social injustices trolls faced and the ethics of treating an obviously sentient being as a pet. It was something that had been eating at her ever since Mituna became a part of her home. It just took the incident at the mall for it to sink in how fundamentally wrong the whole system was. 

Mituna wasn't just a troll. He was a sass mouthed, annoying, caring, genius _kid_. And people still didn't see that. She had walked out of three restaurants who had politely asked her to leash her companion animal. She glared back at every disapproving stare. God it made her angry. She felt so damn protective of him it hurt. 

Sipping at the glass in her hand, Roxy returned to the living room. "Hey, Mituna. What you up to?" 

__"Coding."_ _

__"No shit." She sighed rubbing her brow. "I was wondering _what ___you were coding."_ _

___"A bulge licking waifu." His fingers continued to clack away._ _ _

___"So not in the sharing mood, huh?" In the two weeks he had the computer he had learned how to code html and was quickly learning C++. He tore through the languages like starved did food. Flopping down heavily in the seat next to him, she stared at the television screen a long time not quite seeing the program._ _ _

___"What was it like for you one the streets?" She felt the words fall out of her own mouth and froze. Mituna's typing halted too. The air between them was silent for a long time, the program playing in the background the only thing rattling on. Finally Mituna closed the lid of his PC and flipped the tv off. Now real silence was draped all around them, like a smothering blanket._ _ _

___It seemed to stretched on an eternity. "What do you want to know?"_ _ _

___"You've been here over a month, Mituna. I've never asked you, because you seemed to have your reasons. But... I want to know who you are." She turned to him and set her drink down on the table. "Haven't I earned your enough of your trust to tell me? I mean, how did you end up on the streets, were you born there? I just... I...." She trailed off pathetically._ _ _

___She watched his face as his jaw tensed. Finally, he turned his mismatched eyes on her. It was unnerving to sit there while he regarded her. He seemed to be looking for something in her face._ _ _

___Apparently, he found it. He gave a resigned sigh and the tenseness melted from his shoulders. He unzipped his hoodie and wrestled his way out of it. Next his fingers went to the hem of his shirt._ _ _

___"Whoa there kid what are you doi-" Her voice stopped when the shirt bared his grey skin. Yellow tinted Spiderweb scars crisscrossed the skin of his torso. He shifted on the couch so his back was facing her. A bar code and Id was visible between his shoulder blades._ _ _

___Roxy's mouth hung open. This story was going to be a long story._ _ _


	9. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I'm really sorry this took so long to write. Been in kinda bad place, but I am trying really hard to make these more regular.

"The walls were thterile and white through the plastic barth. That's the firtht thing I remember." Mituna sat with his bared back to Roxy. The rough ridges of the honey colored scarring caught the light, making them almost glow. The darkness of the ink a shouting contrast.

"I think that was pre-pupation. All I could remember being able to do watch thplutter a hith and roll around on the ground. Well maybe I could uthe my pthionicth. I dithinctly remember the thmell of melting plathtic." The muscles of his back twitched as he let out a short bitter laugh.

"They of courthe didn't like that. Tho they would give me a thhot that made me feel like fire." A shudder passed through his frail looking shoulders. Sighing, he leaned back against the couch. He didn't make eye contact with her, instead just staring at the ground.

"It was dark for a long while. It was peathful. Probably the thafetht I'd ever felt. And it thtayed that way. For tho long." Frail fingers went yo pinch the bridge of this nose. His eyes were clamped shut, almost as if he was trying to simulate that dark quiet place once more.

"Then, I hatched." Some thing dark shadowed his mismatched eyes as he opened them again. "Crocker corps hath thole rightth to anything ethperimental uthing trollth. And they took full advantage of that. I wath only roughly three dayth out of pupation before they thtarted tethting my pthiionicth.

"You thee, apparently the head ath hat, hath thith toy of a troll. Really powerful and thit. Well they had been trying to breed him for a while. Bunch of flop eggth. I was the only one that made it to wriggler. Apparently daddy-oh was loosing hith juithe. And the head honch-bitch wanted the poor athhole kept alive. So they tethted me. Kept thaying that they were developing my pthiionicth. But then they hooked me up to thethe mathineth." He lifted up his mop of hair and displayed the small marks that looked like cigarette burns against his temple. "I felt tho tired all the time. It wath like they were thucking the life out of me."

Mituna pulled his legs up to his chin, closing in on himself. "I was tired and it hurt. Mothtly I couldn't do anything. But when I tried to fight it I hurt worthe. I ended up over loading the machine really badly onthe. That where I got the electrical burnth." He shrugged his tiny shoulder. "They thought I was gonna die tho they took me down. They left me all alone in a cage for a while. I couldn't really keep track of how long I wath in there. They gave me more of the medicine that made me feel like fire. I couldn't uthe my pthiioniicth 

"There wath a big butht. A bunch of feral trollth came and broke in. A thlick cerulean blood and her chocolate blood troll babe. They thprung all the young oneth that could walk. I happened to be one of em.

"We left to go live with thith group of trollth. There were no humanth around. We jutht lived out in the wilderneth. About thirty of uth in the Appalachian mountainth. I thpent yearth there... But about two yearth ago, I accidentally killed one of the group. A rutht blood named Dathuin." He placed his hands over his eyes, pressing down with his palms. A crackle of electricity shot between his horns. "I wath tho thorry. But it didn't matter. He wath dead. And it wath my fault." Mituna's voice broke. Roxy reached out a hand to comfort him, but hesitated and put her hand back in her lap.

"They kicked me out." The grey hands wiped a way some honey colored liquid from his eyes. They were no longer pained looking, but as cold as ice. "They dropped me in the city and left me there to either rot... or thurvive. And I preferred the latter. I barely tuned my pthiioniicth. Jutht when I really need food or thomething." He sniffled and finally looked at her with an ashamed look. "Or when it getth really cold and I needed a place to thleep. People are more inclined to let you thtay the night if they theem to hit you with their car."

Oh. Well, wasn't he the crafty little shit. Honestly Roxy was impressed. The kid deserved a fucking oscar.

"I honethtly wathn't planning to thtay thith long. I jutht..... It wath /you/... And you made me feel... Like I.... I... Was " He flailed his hands about, trying to desperately to find the word. 

"Home?" Roxy offered the word softly. They locked eye for a moment.

"Home." Mituna repeated with the tiniest of nods. "I never meant to uthe you like thith." Fat yellow tears began flowing fast down his face. "I'm thorry, I'm tho thorry. I-"

"Shhh" Roxy stifled his apologies by wrapping him in a firm hug. The frail little grey shoulder shook hard as he sobbed into her blouse. "Hush kid. Hush. You _are_ home. I will always be here. I will keep you safe. You never have to go back to that again."

They stayed that way a long time, just holding holding each other. It took a while for Mituna to stop crying, but eventually he did and slowly relaxed in Roxy's arms. She stroked his hair for a long time. A myriad of emotions were swirling in her heart. For the first time in her life, she felt like she had something worth protecting. And she would fight for him.

His breathing evened out and she knew he was fast asleep. She shook him gently to get him to bed. He was too deeply asleep to be roused. Sighing, she scooped him up and headed for the stairs. He curled into her as she climbed the steps. She felt her heart squeeze. He looked so innocent. She opened the door to his room and placed him in the huge pile of blankets he had made a bed for himself with. She threw a couple of the loose ones snuggly over him.

Stepping back she looked at him. He looked so small and so defenseless. She knew how that face hardened when he woke up. He was wise to the world. But I sleep he really did just look like a little kid with a messy mop of hair and couple horns poking out of it.

Roxy was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. She backed out of the room and went back down to the kitchen. Without realizing she had dialed, she found the phone to her ear.

"Callie? Yeah. Pull the article. I have something bigger coming."


	10. Mice and Men

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be kind to those you love.

tipsyGnostic began pestering nostalgicRamification  
TG: n, i need ur help.  
NR: hey tg, you've been dark forever. Good to see youre still alive. What can I do for you?  
TG: i need u 2 look at this.  
tipsyGnostic sent a file to nostalgicRamification  
NR: where the hell did you get that?  
TG: just a project im working on. weird tho. i can hack in just fine but then all the text randomly switches 2 this gibberish as fast as i uncover a new file. its like its some new fanlged security system. i cant hack my way through fast enough 2 get 2 content.  
TG: * fangled.  
NR: Tg, what the hell are you messing with? The last person who showed me this type of text wound up dead two weeks later.  
TG: im messing with oppression. i know the risks. thats what Anonymous is about isnt it? now tell me.  
NR: ..... Okay, look i'll give you what i have. It's not much. But i'm not getting any more involved. Wipe all the logs once youre done. Dont get yourself killed ok?  
nostalgicRamification sent an encrypted file to tipsyGnostic  
TG: thanks n i owe u.  
nostalgicRamifications ceased pestering tipsyGnostic.

Roxy sat back and rubbed her eyes. She had been looking at code for the better part of twelve hours. Her head ached something feirce. The file her acquaintance sent was layered under one of the tougher encryption she had ever encountered. But she managed it and now she looked back at the glowing screen.

"Betty Crocker Corp.  
Internal Testing Dept  
Classified Observation log

In all my years of research I have never encountered such an amazing ability in a species. Observations have displayed that each specimen has the innate ability for language. We noticed that the subjects were communicating with each other during uninterrupted observations. When we left the pupated subjects with writing materials and enforced a strict no noise rule, they began writing strange symbols with the provided materials. There seemed to be an unspoken mutual understanding as to what these symbols meant. Once we separated the subjects we interrogated them as to what they were doing. They said they were talking. We had previously not introduced any written language to subjects in question.  
We have named the alternate language Alternian, and we believe all trolls are pupated with this language skill. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether this skill can be put towards espiona-"

"What are you doing?" Roxy pulled her eyes away from the screen again. Mituna had stuck his shaggy head into the office. The poor thing had dark yellow smudges under his eyes and looked a little flushed. He was already in his bee pajamas, despite the fact it was only nine.

Roxy stretched hugely, hearing her bones crackle. Damn, she was stiff. "Oh nothing really, just some research. You off to doing okay kid?"

"Yeah, I jutht need thlee-" Mituna was cut off by the loud digital screech from Roxy's computer. Roxy's head whipped around. The screen was black and there was lines of that strange writing, Alternian, scrolling on it. There was a gasp behind her as she reached for the key board.

"Move." Mituna shoved her out of the chair with more force than she thought possible. His fingers flew over the key board.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Roman letters and numbers curled across the screen to the furious pounding of his fingers. He let out a distressed chrrr. "Don't you fucking DARE." The words came out as a more of snarl than anything else.

The air was electrically charge. Quite literally. The air had an acrid taste of metal upon it, the hairs on her arms and necks and reading lamp shorted with a small pop. Blue and red sparks danced between his horns.

"AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHH." The exclamation build as the speed of his typing increased. "FUCK YES!" He slammed the lid of the laptop closed, picked it up and slammed the device repeatedly against the side of the desk. Satisfied and breathing hard, Mituna sank to the floor, the wreckage of the laptop on his lap.

Roxy let out a strangled gurgle, not yet able to put into words her feelings. What the hell had just happened? What was that text scrolling across her scree-OH DEAR GOD HER LAPTOP. 

"M-my laptop." The noise was an appalled tiny squeak. Very gingerly, she took the ruined fragments out of his grasp. That laptop had survived mod after mod. It had been with her since she had really began writing in earnest. It had been her favorite hand build gift from Dirk. " _Why?_ "

The word had been colder and harsher than she thought possible. Mituna's mismatched eyes widened. "Had to! He wath hacking your hard drive and trying to get on to the network." His ears were a deep yellow as he scrambled to his feet. "If I didn't thtop them it would have thpread to all devitheth on the network. They were trying to nab your personal data while wrecking your whole thythtem. I frothe them out, but I only had a few thecondth to dethtroy the drive before you lotht everything."

"Before I lost everything?? This WAS everything." She felt cold fury bubbling up in her. "Everything important was on here. My manuscripts, my codes, my files. EVERYTHING IMPORTANT."

"I KNOW THAT." They were shouting at each other now. "IF YOU'D LITHTEN TO ME-" And that was it Roxy snapped. She burst into tears.

"Get out. Go to bed. You've done enough." Mituna stood unmoving for a few beats.

"Roxy I-"

"GO!" Mituna bolted for the door. She was so angry it hurt, but all she could do was sit there and I cry like a baby. Vaguely she heard his bedroom door slam, but she couldn't careless. She sat for a long time in the defending silence, cradling the reminents of her most prized possession to her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long guys. Had trouble deciding where an wanted to take this chapter. I always welcome feedback and advice. Please let me know what you guys thing.


End file.
